Saturday, October 18, 2008

This book is about a monster named Stinky who lives in a cave in the swamp and he’s very happy there. But he does not like humans and doesn’t want any of them coming to his swamp.

Stinky has pet rats, bats and likes eating pickled onions. He also has a pet toad named Wartbelly. It was funny when he comes out of his cave because all of the birds and squirrels outside have clothespins on their nose because he smells so bad. He carries Wartbelly around in a wheelbarrow. Stinky says that he loves mud, slugs and things that smell bad like onions.

When Stinky is sneaking around with his toad he says to be very quiet because there is a human town close by and they don’t like monsters. He’s mad at human children because they don’t smell and take baths and eat things like candy and apples. Stinky gets really mad because a kid named Nick comes to his swamp and he’s eating an apple. Stinky doesn’t like kids or apples. Nick made a tree-house in the middle of the swamp and that makes Stinky even madder and Stinky wants to get rid of him by scaring him away.

The first thing he does to scare Nick is that he puts Wartbelly in the tree0house but Nick loves frogs and toads and decides to keep Wartbelly as a pet and names him Daisy.

Then Stinky tries to get rid of him by stealing his hammer and he throws it in the middle of the swamp. When Nick goes to look for flies for Daisy to eat he also finds his hammer in the swamp and is very happy. Nick thinks that the swamp may be haunted and have ghosts so Stinky dresses up as a ghost and yells ‘boo’. That didn’t scare Nick, though. Stinky’s ghost costume comes off and Nick sees him and chases after him and Stinky hides in a tree.

Stinky finds Nick’s hat and throws it in a deep pit and that makes Nick sad. Stink feels bad because Nick liked the hat a lot and tries to get the hat but he falls in the pit and gets stuck. Nick found out that he was trapped and used a rope to help get Stinky out. Stinky was very happy that he got saved and him and Nick became friends. Nick gave Stinky an apple and Stinky was surprised that he liked them so much. He offered Nick a pickled onion but Nick didn’t answer. I think that Nick wanted to be nice and tried the pickled onion even though they didn’t show it.

I like that on the last page there is a map of the swamp that shows Stinky’s cave, the town where humans live, Nick’s tree house and other things. That was a cool drawing.

I think it would have been a little better if the boy was scared because it would have been funnier to see someone scared by the monster. It was still a good story, though. And this was another comic that had easy to read words and one that was sent to me from the company. I got a lot of cool things in the mail to read.

Amazing Spider-Man #573Written by Dan Slott and Illustrated by John Romita JrPublished by Marvel Comics

This is the last part of the big Spider-Man story with Green Goblin, Venom and Anti-Venom. This story has been a lot of fun. Spider-Man got to fight a lot of cool bad guys and a new bad guy came out called Anti-Venom. He was the first Venom. And the new Venom got a cool new Scorpion costume. There was a lot of good stuff in the story.

I really liked the picture of Spider-Man and Anti-Venom that took two pages. They look very cool swinging above the city and I like how Spider-Man has put webbing over all his injuries but there is still blood all over his costume. Spider-Man is really funny the way he talks to Anti-Venom. I like that he tells Anti-Venom they’re going to split up because he doesn’t like him. And he says that Anti-Venom is a really stupid name and should have picked a better name. One cool part was how Eddie changed his suit so he looked like Spider-Man and then his suit started to change and it looked like a mix between Spider-Man and Anti-Venom. That was a cool looking drawing.

I thought the battle between Spider-Man and Green Goblin was really good but it should have been longer. I like how Spider-Man jumped on his back and tried to get him to leave Harry Osborn alone. And I like how Goblin presses a button to get his glider to come out in a remote control out of a secret spot. And Spider-Man gets really mad that the Goblin keeps pressing buttons and different bad things start happening. Spider-Man takes over the glider and makes it crash into the wall and starts bashing Goblin’s head against it to beat him.

I really liked the fight between Scorpion/Venom and Anti-Venom. It was very cool how the Scorpion Venom used his tail to slice into Anti-Venom and that hurt him real bad. The Scorpion Venom was able to make Eddie get really weak and the costume disappeared off of him.

The fight with Spider-Man and Green Goblin is a tie. The building blows up and they both just go to their own spots. I like how Peter was looking for clues in the destroyed office and was trying to reach for the book and Harry’s girlfriend took his arm and kissed him. Peter got nervous because he didn’t want Harry to get mad, but Harry didn’t see. I think she knows that the secret Goblin equipment is back there and she stopped him on purpose. My prediction is that she is Menace Goblin because they both have long hair and she knows where Goblin equipment is. And Menace uses a gun and sometimes girls like guns. You’ll see I’m right.

There was a lot of good art. I like the picture of Anti Venom and Scorpion Venom fighting and how the suit came off of him. I like the big picture of how the Green Goblin was jumped on by Spider-Man. I like how Spider-Man had Green Goblin in a neck lock and then punched him in the head to get him to shut up. That was a real cool move.

This would have been a 10 but I didn’t like that there was another story in it that was sort of weird. I didn’t really like the guy who’s running for President. I never even heard of him before. I think it would have been cooler to see Spider-Man team up with John McCain or Barack Obama. I got those comics, too, but didn’t review them yet.

This comic had two great battles in it but my favorite one was the Venom vs Venom because they both have the same types of powers and Venom with Scorpion powers is great. I think a great idea would have all of the Goblins fight next. Harry and his dad could fight Menace Goblin and Hobgoblin. That would be awesome!

Jack and the BoxWritten and Illustrated by Art SpieglmanPublished by Toon Books

This is the story about a rabbit named Jack who gets a box from his parents as a present. He doesn’t know what it is and can’t open it and then a silly creature pops out and scares Jack and his family.

Jack keeps trying to get the box to open again but he can’t figure out how to open it. He keeps asking the box to play but the box says ‘no way’. The creature pops out of the box again because Jack keeps bugging him to play and scares him again and Jack closes him back in the box. One funny part was later Jack said, ‘are you in the box’ and the box answers ‘no’.

The next day Jack spends the whole day trying to get the box to open and he keeps getting madder and madder. Then he walks away and says that it’s a bad toy and the box opens and the creature pops out again. The creature says he’s not a bad toy. He’s a silly toy. And the creature says that his name is Zack and then starts making fun of Jack’s name and saying that Jack is a silly name.

The next time Jack wants to play, Zack is out of the box. He looks like a head on a spring and doesn’t have arms or legs. Jack says that Zack is silly but Zack says that he’s only a little silly and that his friend Mack is the really silly one. Mack pops out of Zach’s head and tells them all that he has a pet duck. The duck pops out and says ‘quack’. Then a whole bunch of little ducks come out and they start wrecking Jack’s room and they break his lamp.

Jack is upset that they broke his lamp and he gets mad but Mack says that they all love broken lamps and trade him a new lamp for the broken lamp. Jack is able to make everything better and the ducks, Mack and Zack all go back in the box before Jack’s parents see what happened.

I liked this because it was a different type of story. It wasn’t like a regular comic book. And the words were really big and easy to read like Tiny Titans so I liked that. The creatures were all pretty silly and it was a fun story to read.

I also thought it was very cool that the company sent me this book to read because they liked my reviews. That was a nice surprise.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Deadpool #3Written by Daniel Way and Illustrated by Paco MedinaPublished by Marvel Comics

This is one of the best comics. Every issue is really funny and Deadpool does a lot of crazy and fun stuff. The second issue was just okay but this one was my favorite of all of them.

I like how Deadpool was imagining Nick Fury as a cartoon in the beginning and he had a pacifier and everything. I laughed when Deadpool saw the Super Skrull and said, ‘what’s the matter? You look a little…oh what’s the word I’m looking for…stupid’. I think it’s so funny how he just insults the people he’s facing and gets them so mad. And then when the Super Skrull was getting mad Deadpool just ran away. I wasn’t expecting him to be so dumb and just run away. It’s funny, too, how Deadpool keeps talking to himself and having dumb conversations.

One of my other favorite parts is when they showed the room filled with the Deadpool Skrulls. They’re still playing the stupid knock knock game where they shoot each other after the joke. I was surprised that they were still doing it. They’re just really dumb and talking about how they all have pointy ears and shooting each other. So stupid.

The fight between the Super Skrull and Deadpool was pretty good. I like how this Skrull had fire and freeze powers and Deadpool broke a water pipe and made the Skrull freeze himself. One part that was a little weird was when Deadpool was talking about how he had cancer so when they made Skrulls out of him they would all get sick, too. And then the Skrull Deadpools started acting crazy and were blowing up and one got all over Deadpool’s mask.

I like when Deadpool was facing the Skrull doctor and was telling him how he won and was better than him and right before he left he goes, ‘oh I almost forgot to beat you to death’ and then beats the Skrull to death by stomping on him. I thought the ending was pretty cool when Deadpool and Nick Fury were trying to get computer files on how to kill the Skrull Queen but Norman Osborn stole it with his own computer. It’s odd that he wants the file. I don’t know why he was in the book, but he’s a cool bad guy so it’s okay. It was cool how Osborn stole the computer file with his own file. It’s odd that he wants

I like the art in this book, especially how Deadpool and all of the Skrulls are drawn. I liked the drawing where it was a picture of Deadpool running away. And the way baby Nick Fury was drawn was very cool, too. This book was a lot funnier than the last Deadpool.

Secret Six #2Written by Gail Simone and Illustrated by Nicola ScottPublished by DC Comics

I liked the cover with Batman and Catman fighting. They both have costumes that look kind of the same except they’re different colors and Catman’s ears are different.

Most of the issue was about Batman and Catman fighting. Batman is mad because Catman is in his city and he doesn’t want any criminals around. Catman keeps asking questions about food and it’s just annoying Batman really bad. I liked how Catman nails Batman with a punch and says Bane says high. I thought that was really cool. I didn’t think Catman would be that tough. There are a lot of cool parts during the fight. A cool part was when they both fell off the roof during their fight and Batman uses his rope gun to keep from falling to the street. I liked when Batman told Catman he ate a burrito and told him to stop asking him about food. That part was sort of silly.

The rest of the issue is about Catman’s team breaking into a prison to free some lady so they can get a big reward. Batman thinks it’s a trap, but no one is listening to him. I thought that the crazy looking ship the team was using looked really neat. And I like how Bane had to lift everyone over the wall when they landed because he was the strongest person on the team. Ragdoll is one of my favorite people in the book. He’s very weird. His powers are crazy and he acts crazy. I like how he used his powers to wrap around the guards in the prison and attack them.

I like how they draw Bane so tough and the way Batman and Catman fight. The artist is really good and there is a lot of detail. The buildings and everything look very well drawn and there is cool detail like the blood in Batman’s mouth when he gets punched.

I liked the huge bad guy with the long red hair in the prison. He was really strong, kind of like the hulk and I like when he punched the ground and smashed it all up. I thought it was funny when the team told Bane to use his venom to get stronger but Bane says he doesn’t like using it anymore and the other bad guys are like, ‘you could have told us that before’. It was funny when Bane just took a pipe and hit the red haired guy in the crotch to take him down.

I was glad when all of the bad guys on the team got into their costumes. It was hard to recognize people before but when they wore their costumes I could tell who everyone was. Deadshot was cool, but I wish he was in the book more. The last pages were good. I like how the main bad guy was still very creepy in his costume and they showed the picture of all the bad guys who were working for him. The big chubby guy and the shark guy made me laugh.

Catman and Deadshot are my favorite characters. It’s weird having a book all about bad guys but I liked it a lot and there were some very interesting parts.

In this issue, Spider-Man starts off by fighting the Lizard. They have a huge fight and Spider-Man webs the Lizard up, waiting for him to turn back into his friend, Dr Conners but instead this Lizard turns into a girl. I wasn’t expecting that.

Peter Parker goes to school and one of the girls there invites him to the movies with all of the cool kids. Peter is happy to be invited and says that he’ll go to the movies with them and the girl tells him that he better not miss it.

Peter changes into Spider-Man and goes to look for Conners but finds out he’s missing. He is worried that he is the Lizard again so he takes the cure and looks for the Lizard.

My favorite part of the book was the Serpent Society. It’s this group of bad guys that all have powers of different snakes. There’s a guy with Cobra powers, another one with Anaconda powers and she can make her arms stretch. She grabs Spider-Man and starts to squeeze him to death and he tells her that he doesn’t want a hug. That was funny. The serpent team is very cool and they want Conners to turn everyone into lizards by putting his formula in the water. Spider-Man fights the snake guys and I like how he webbed the one guy’s mouth and said that he should call himself web mouth. Conners doesn’t listen and drinks all of the formula and that turns him into a giant lizard creature that’s super huge. Spider-Man has to go after him and they have a huge battle because Spider-Man has to try and stop him before he can get into the city and hurt a lot of people. He catches the giant Lizard and puts a bunch of bottles of the cure into the monster’s mouth and it ends up turning him back into his friend Conners.

Spider-Man changes back into Peter Parker and goes to meet his friends at the movies but they’re going to see a monster movie. It’s a monster movie about a giant lizard that attacks the city so Peter doesn’t want to see that. He makes everyone mad but he goes home anyway.

The book was pretty good. The Lizard is a cool bad guy but I wish the fight was longer. I really liked the Serpent Society but that fight went by really quick, too. There was still a lot going on and there were more parts that I liked than didn’t like.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Every week I’m going to be reviewing the awesome new Clone Wars TV series. Clone Wars was my favorite movie of the year and one of my favorite Star Wars movies ever and I’m really happy that there is going to be a TV show I can watch all the time.

There were two different episodes on tonight and both of them were great. I like how each episode is really about a different Jedi. The first one is about Yoda and the second one is about Plo Koon. Plo Koon wasn’t in the movie that much, but he’s really cool. I like how he has to wear that mask and that he has a weird voice. He’s one of my favorite Jedi. There was a lot going on in both of the episodes and it didn’t really seem like it was a half hour. It was over so soon!

The droids were really funny in the first episode. They were funny in both episodes but funnier in the first. I like when one droid was asking what Yoda is like and Assaj was like ‘he’s small and green and has a lightsaber like this’ and the droids went off to battle. I like how the droid in one of the tanks was like, ‘Stay, stay. Why won’t anyone listen to me?’ I liked how the one droid was whining and said he just got promoted before getting blasted. They’re so ridiculous.

I like when Yoda took the light both lightsabers from Assaj because he’s stronger than her. I think its cool how little Yoda is the toughest Jedi there is. I like how his ears are drawn extra pointy in the cartoon. Some characters look just like they do in the movies like the droids and the clones and the ships and things and others are a bit stranger looking like Dooku.

I liked the part when all the clones had their helmets off and were saying that they all look the same but Yoda described what’s different about all of them. I still think they look a lot cooler with their helmets on though. The clones are my favorite, but the droids are the funniest. They were funny in the movie and still funny in the show, and I was happy about that.

One of the really cool scenes was when Yoda got the sword as a reward for helping out.

The second episode was about Plo Koon and there was a cool scene where Plo Koon and the clones went into an escape pod and then they saw another escape pod with a dead clone in it. That was surprising. I also really liked when Grievous’ droids were trying to destroy the ship with the big laser bomb and how one of the battle droids was singing while he was flying in space. They’re so annoying sometimes!

The space battles were really cool. It looked more like the movies and not a cartoon. They were really well done. There was a lot of great action in all the shows from space and with the clone army against the droid army and even lightsaber fights. There was nothing I didn’t like about these shows.

I liked the Yoda one a little bit better than the Plo Koon one because it was a bit funnier. Plo Koon is still cool, though and I like how he talks weird. I had no clue that the super battle droids could talk. That surprised me.

This is a great show and I can’t wait for the rest of them to come on.

Batman #680Written by Grant Morrison and Illustrated by Tony DanielPublished by DC Comics

Batman is still nuts in this comic.

I like that Dr Hurt is letting people bet whether the good guys are going to win or whether the bad guys are going to win. It’s cool how the bad guys are all using the Batcave as their base. I’d like to see a big battle between Batman and all these bad guys in the Batcave.

It was really weird how the one guy wants to operate on Nightwing’s brain. I liked how he had to change into a different costume before he was going to operate. The nurse said that the poison they gave Nightwing is going to wear off soon so I think Nightwing is going to escape.

Batmite was in the issue again and he was fun. I like when Batman asked Batmite whether he was real or if he was just imagining him and all the other crazy stuff. But then Batmite goes away before Batman goes into the prison. And then when Batman goes into the prison he uses a real bat and starts beating all the gang members with it. Batman’s so tough he just goes through all of the goons with no problem, but he’s still crazy and he’s screaming about his girlfriend.

One of my favorite parts was when Commissioner Gordon is walking around Bruce Wayne’s house looking for Bruce Wayne or anyone that can help him but Dr Hurt has the whole place full of traps. I like how Gordon only had a few seconds to answer the special red phone and when he’s running to answer it a person in a suit of armor tries to kill him but another Robin shoots the bad guy with a bow and arrow. I like how the one lady told Gordon that the other Robin is Batman’s son and this Robin says he wants a Batmobile.

I liked how the Joker started killing some of the bad guys, too, especially the one with the sombrero. I guess he doesn’t want anyone else to fight Batman except him. I liked the art in the book. I like the page where Batman is standing on the gate in the rain. It’s cool how the rain is drawn and the way his cape is blowing. I like how they drew the other Robin with the bow and arrow, too. And the Joker was drawn really well.

My favorite part of the book was when Batman meets Joker in the prison. This Joker is drawn very creepy. He’s very skinny and has blood on him and he’s playing with a knife and it looks like he cut his tongue to look like a snake unless Batman is imagining it. The Joker says that Batman shot him in the face and has a weird mark on his head where he was shot but Batman doesn’t use guns and he tells the Joker but Joker doesn’t believe him. The Joker isn’t really a tough guy and Batman starts pounding on him pretty easy.

I think Batman has to be drugged or something because he starts running around without his mask. It’s pretty dumb if he took off his mask to fight the bad guys because now everyone is going to know who he is. I was really surprised by the end. I think they’re trying to say that this person is the Black Glove because they’re putting on Black Gloves but that’s not who I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be someone else and I’m not sure if this is just a trick or something. I did like the colors on the last two pages. When you hold it up it looks like one big picture and it’s all black and red and that’s what Joker and Batman are talking about as he’s going nuts. It just looks really cool.

About this Blog

New Comic Reviews Posted Every Week

The 'Kid''s secret identity is Liam, my son. He really wanted to do this and eventually his younger brother Ethan wanted to join it. Basically they talk and I write.

They pick the books they want to read from the store each week and we read the books together, discuss them afterwards and then he does his reviews. The choice of what books to review will be theirs, not mine.

I'm letting a 9 and 6 year old boy go loose in the comic store every week in the hopes they/we can provide readers with a different perspective on some of today's comic books. Maybe you don't have kids but think it's interesting to find out what a grade-schooler thinks about them? Maybe you do have kids and this column can provide you with some insight on what to seek out on your next trip to the comic shop?

They love feedback so feel free to leave a comment on the blog or email us about what you think.

Thanks for reading.

About Me

Liam is a 9 year old son to a geek father. Liam and his younger brother Ethan have been subjected to geek culture since shortly after they were born. He's been brought up with a healthy dose of Star Wars, Spider-Man and The Simpsons among other things.
Liam now feels like it's time to share his opinions on comic books with the world.
Liam loves animals (especially kittens), drawing, GI Joe and Star Wars.
Ethan loves animals, playing with his action figures and lego Batman.
They're both in their first season of little league
And they both love getting feedback on the site.